


Hope and Josie's Night O' Fun

by allweseeislight



Category: Legacies (TV 2018)
Genre: F/F
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-05-19
Updated: 2020-05-19
Packaged: 2021-03-03 01:27:27
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 11,657
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24276598
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/allweseeislight/pseuds/allweseeislight
Summary: Hope and Josie are both out after curfew on the same night, and when they aren’t able to get into the school, they decide to have some fun together until the gates reopen in the morning. Set after 2x16.
Relationships: Hope Mikaelson/Josie Saltzman
Comments: 42
Kudos: 216





	Hope and Josie's Night O' Fun

**Author's Note:**

> I thought I'd write a cute little story about Hope and Josie after the events of 2x16!

Hope Mikaelson kept her footsteps light as she slipped back towards the Salvatore School. She checked the time on her phone. It was 12:15, over 2 hours after curfew. She hoped Dr. Saltzman wouldn’t mind. It was her first night out since waking up after saving Josie, and she’d just wanted some time to herself. He’d have to understand that, right? She got to the gate of the school and went to open it, only for it to not move. It must have been locked. She did a spell to unlock it, but nothing. She tugged at the door again and looked through for Mr. Williams, only to remember that he and Emma had left. Great, she was stuck. She reached in her pocket for her phone, only to remember she’d forgotten it in her room. She looked up at the fence. Maybe she could scale it. She gave herself a running start, and leaped up towards the fence, only to get bounced back by a barrier spell. Hope wasn’t sure which spell it was, so she wasn’t sure how to break it. It was then she remembered Dr. Saltzman had put up new protective measures incase the Necromancer came back. There would be no coming in until morning, when the teachers returned to campus since they lived at home.

“Well this is fantastic,” Hope said. She sighed and slumped against a tree. She contemplated going to Maya’s house. She’d let her stay over. Too bad she had no idea where she lived. Hope was wondering if she could go to the police station and make a call when she heard something that sounded like a twig snap. She looked up from where she’d been sitting and saw a silhouette running. She used her wolf eyes to make out who it belonged to, and recognized it as Josie Saltzman, “Josie?” she asked loudly enough for the girl to turn to look at her.

“Hope? What are you doing out here?” she asked.

“I could ask you the same thing,” Hope said, “Don’t even try getting into there. There’s a barrier spell up. Even I couldn’t break it.” An idea came to her, “But hey, you can just siphon it away, right? Once I’m back with my books I might be able to replicate it.” Josie looked shyly at her feet, “What?”

“You were asleep for a long time,” Josie said, “The night I went back to normal, I guess, I put my siphon power in a coin. I don’t have any magic right now.”

“Oh my God, I didn’t know. I’m so sorry,” Hope said.

“Don’t be, there was no way for you to know. I  _ have _ been kinda distant all day,” she said. They were silent for a bit, “Do you have your phone? I could call Lizzie to come get us. I left mine in my room.” Hope shook her head.

“You and I have clearly been thinking alike tonight. I left my phone in the school too.”

“Well that’s perfect,” Josie said, “Got any ideas on what to do?”

“Yeah, I do,” Hope said, “I was gonna go to the police station to call a friend for the night. But maybe we could go and call Lizzie?” Hope didn’t have Lizzie’s number memorized, but she felt Josie would. And Lizzie would be able to siphon the spell.

“Sure,” Josie said, “Where’s the station?”

“You don’t know where the station is?” Josie had lived in Mystic Falls her whole life. How did she not know where the police station in the middle of town was? Especially since her grandmother used to work there. Josie shrugged,

“I really don’t get out a lot, Hope. Can you lead the way?”

“Yeah sure, come on.” The two girls left the school and walked into town. Mystic Falls was a small town, and after midnight it was basically dead. Hope could see just fine since she was a wolf, but she could tell that Josie was a little lost. Especially because right now she was basically human. She extended her arm and said, “Here, hold on to me. It’s dark and I don’t want you to fall.”

“Thanks,” Josie said. She held on to Hope’s arm as they walked through town. They were almost at the police station when someone asked,

“Hope?” The two girls turned around, and Hope saw Ethan.

“Ethan, hey,” she said, “What are you doing here?” 

“There’s a party down by Wickery Bridge. I’m supplying the beer,” he said, gesturing to the keg he was holding. Hope was glad to see that he was carrying it and no longer had a cast on his arm. However, she could feel Josie stiffen beside her.  _ What was wrong? _

“Cool,” Hope said, “Josie, this is Ethan. He was my friend when I was at Mystic Falls High. Ethan, this is Josie. My friend from the Salvatore School.”

“I think we’ve kind of already met,” he said, “We played each other at the football game, remember?” Hope nodded,

“Oh yeah, we did.”

“Nice to meet you again Josie,” Ethan said, “You two wanna come to the party? I think Maya will be there. She’d love to see you again.” 

“Oh no, we’re actually busy,” Hope explained, and was about to say they were on their way to make a call when Josie said,

“I’d love to go.”  _ Well that was unexpected _ . Ethan smiled,

“Awesome. Party starts at 1, I’ll see you guys there.” Ethan left with the keg and Hope asked,

“What was that? I thought you wanted to call Lizzie.”

“Well, it’s like I was saying. I don’t really get out much, and as long as we’re locked out of the school, why not try and have some fun?”

“Well the station is open twenty four hours, we can always call Lizzie after the party,” Hope said. She smiled at Josie, “Then let’s go!”

“Oh not in these clothes,” Josie said, “Lizzie may be the fashion queen in our family but I know how to dress from a party, and this outfit that you’ve been wearing for the past month won’t cut it.”

“This is my school uniform,” Hope said, “Why wouldn’t I be wearing it?”

“You wear it to school, not for a night out,” Josie said, “Speaking of night out, what were you even doing out past curfew anyway?”

“Me? What about you? You’ve never broken curfew once in your life.”

“Yes I have! I have fun,” Josie said.

“Yeah, right.” Hope said. Josie was a powerful witch capable of strong dark magic, but she wasn’t a curfew breaker. She was the person who helped sneak curfew breakers back into the school.

“Well, we still need to get you a different outfit than...that. Is there any store that would be open right now?” Hope shook her head.

“But that isn’t a problem for us. Come on,” she said. She took Josie’s hand and they approached one of the stores near the grill, “Stand back.” She performed the same spell she’d tried on the gate, and luckily for her, it worked this time.

“Hope, alarm!” Josie said, pointing to the blinking red light. In a panic, Hope quickly did a spell that destroyed it. The alarm clattered to the ground in pieces, “Well, that works.”

“You know, if we’re going to get me something nice, we should get you something too. Because no offense, the hoodie look is so not high school party etiquette.” Hope had just turned the light on and now had a real glimpse of Josie’s outfit. While she’d been able to see it before, seeing it in fluorescent light really showed her that she’d stick out like a sore thumb in the hoodie and jeans she had on.

“What do you know about high school party etiquette?” Josie asked, mocking Hope’s tone of voice when she said that, “You’ve never even been to one.”

“I’ve watched movies,” Hope said, “And my uniform is a little more nice looking than whatever...this is, so yeah, if I’m changing, so are you.”

“Fine,” Josie said, “What does your movie knowledge suggest for me?” 

“Hmm,” Hope said. She searched through the shirts and said, “Definitely this.” She pulled out the most see through shirt she could find. Josie scoffed,

“You must be joking.”

“I mean, I think it would look good.”

“Find something else, Hope,” Josie said. Hope sighed, and went back to looking. She was looking through a pile of polo shirts when she asked,

“So what happened back there with Ethan? You looked kind of uncomfortable when he started talking to us.” Josie gave Hope a sad look and said,

“When we were playing the football game a few months ago, I acted recklessly, and without consequence.” Hope frowned,

“What do you mean?”

“I mean that I let jealousy over seeing you and Landon together get the better of me, and I channeled that energy into winning the game. I accepted a dark magic spell from Clarke-Vardemus, without knowing what it did, and the spell ended up breaking that boy’s arm.” Hope froze. Josie had been the reason Ethan had gotten hurt? She had a lot of questions, and was pretty set on asking them until she saw the look of Josie’s face. The regret and the pain. She’d seen that look many times before, and for far worse crimes. She walked up to Josie and took her hands.

“Josie, it’s okay,” she said.

“No, it’s not,” Josie said, moving away from Hope. She ran a hand through her hair and said, “How insecure must I be to have let myself be manipulated like that?”

“You’re not insecure. I wasn’t honest with any of you when it came to Landon, and I should have been. I could have saved the both of you a lot of pain.”

“Don’t even try blaming yourself, Hope. Sometimes you’ve just gotta admit that other people are at fault for their own actions.”

“Then you better believe that too. Kai and Clarke, both of them are at fault for what happened. You didn’t want to break that sand clock, and you only did it to save your family. Don’t let anybody tell you otherwise.”

“Yeah, but it was my decision to let that darkness in, my choice to do the Merge, and my choice to snap Alyssa Chang’s neck.”

“Josie, Alyssa is fine, and so is Lizzie. When are you gonna stop blaming yourself?”

“Maybe when the Necromancer is off the board. Because until he isn’t, that’s my black magic in his system, giving him all the power he wants.”

“Josie, have you ever considered that you and I don’t let ourselves have fun because we blame ourselves for things we can’t control?”

“Maybe,” Josie said. 

“No, not maybe. Exactly,” she said. She pulled a light pink polo shirt from the pile and said, “Try this, it’s a lot more your style.” Josie accepted the shirt and took it to the changing room. When she came back, she said,

“I like it. It works.”

“Not with those pants,” Hope said. She took a black skirt from the rack and said, “Try this. And wear your hair down, it’s nice that way.”

“Have you always had so many critiques over my style?” Josie asked, taking the skirt.

“Maybe,” Hope said.

“Just you wait until we get to you,” Josie said with a sparkle of mischief in her eyes. Hope smiled, glad that Josie was feeling better. As she wanted for Josie to change, she looked around the store, wondering which outfit Josie would want for her. She looked at herself in the mirror. Her school uniform wasn’t that bad. She’d always been fond of it. She didn’t change hers up as much as anyone else, but that was her decision. However, she did agree that it wasn’t party attire. It also definitely hadn’t been attire for what she and Landon had been planning for tonight.

_ 3 Hours Earlier _

Hope knocked on her boyfriend’s door. She waited for about a minute before he answered it. He wore his signature goofy grin, and Hope could smell aftershave on him that she was pretty sure belonged to Rafael.

“Hey,” she said.

“Hey,” he said. They kind of stood there awkwardly for a bit until Landon went, “Oh uh, come on in.” He opened the door a little wider and she entered the room. Landon had made it look incredibly nice. The beds were made, he’d lit a few candles. They were actually going to do this.

“Should we talk first? Before?” Hope asked.

“Sure,” Landon said, “About what?” Hope shrugged,

“I mean, I don’t know. We’ve both been asleep for a while, we’re lucky to be awake. I just figured that we should talk about that.”

“What do you want to say?” he asked. Truth was, she didn’t know. It had been Hope’s idea to do this, but now that she was here, she felt really nervous, “Hope, if you don’t want to-”

“No, I want to,” she said, but even he could hear her uncertainty.

“Maybe we should wait,” he said, “I don’t want to force you.”

“Landon, we’ve been apart for weeks, I thought this was what you wanted,” she said.

“That’s the problem,” he said, “You only want to be here because it’s what I want, but we both know we can’t do this unless you want it too.”

“I do, really,” she said. She kissed him, and he kissed her back. It felt good too. Yes, this was good. She felt good. She wanted this. She kissed him harder, and she could feel his hand moving her cardigan out of the way. However, once he’d gotten it off, she felt different. Without even registering what was going on, she did a spell that shot Landon across the room, “Landon oh my God!” She fixed her shirt and went to help him up. She got him to his feet and said, “I’m so sorry.”

“You see what I mean?” he asked with a sad smile.

“I don’t know what’s wrong with me. It’s just that ever since I got out of Josie’s head, I just haven’t been feeling myself. I still don’t know why I slept for so long afterwards. It was all just endless darkness that I couldn’t escape, and I guess that’s been messing with me. I’m sorry.”

“You don’t have to apologize, it’s fine. I just wish you could have told me.”

“When? I woke up last night. And I missed you, so I thought that we could do this, and maybe everything would go back to normal.”

“I wasn’t aware things had changed.”

“Of course things have changed! Josie went dark, you almost died, Raf and Lizzie did die!”

“Raf and Lizzie are fine!”

“They might not have been!”

“But they are, and it’s because you saved their lives! No offense to them but I don’t get what that has to do with us.”

“It’s got everything to do with us,” Hope said, “This past year has taught me that I could lose a lot if I’m not focused. And when I was with you, I wasn’t focused.”

“You seemed pretty focused when you went to save the Saltzmans from the prison world.”

“That’s not fair. You said you understood my choice.”

“And I did. But that doesn’t mean it didn’t hurt,” Landon said.

“Wow Landon, anything else you want to get off your chest?”

“I didn’t mean to upset you,” he said.

“Well you did,” Hope said. She put her cardigan and boots back in, “I think I need to go for a walk and clear my head.”

“I’ll come with you,” he offered.

“I need to be alone right now,” she told him. She walked out of Landon’s room and was headed to the door when she heard one of the hall monitors say,

“Curfew is in thirty minutes!”

“Then I’ll be back in thirty minutes!” Hope yelled at him. She winced as he shrunk away from her. He couldn’t have been any older than a sixth grader. She opened her mouth to apologize, but he ran away. She felt bad, but she also felt that they needed better hall monitors. She left the school and headed towards the woods. She went deep into the woods, and when she was sure she was far enough, she removed her clothes, and allowed her body to start the transition. Maybe some time in her wolf form would make her feel a little better.

_ Present Time _

Hope was snapped out of her memory when Josie returned from the dressing room in the skirt Hope had picked out, with her hair now flowing down her back. She looked beautiful.

“Okay, the skirt was a good call, but I feel like I should change out of these Converse,” she said. She then noticed how Hope looked down and asked, “Hope, what’s wrong?”

“It’s nothing,” Hope said, “You look awesome, Josie. And uh, don’t change the shoes, they fit.”

“Thank you,” Josie said, “Now are you sure that nothing is wrong?”

“Yeah, I’m sure,” Hope lied. Josie raised an eyebrow at her, so Hope flashed her a smile. She didn’t need Josie worrying about her right now, “So, are you gonna get me an outfit?”

“Yes, I will,” she said, “Wait right here.” Josie skipped away to find an outfit, and Hope laughed at how cute she looked. She watched as she delicately combed through the tops on one of the racks, and it gave Hope the opportunity to really admire the outfit she’d given Josie. The shirt really accentuated her perfect hourglass figure, and the skirt was at a length where it wasn’t too short but it was short enough to show off her legs. Hope was proud of herself.

“Try this,” Josie said, throwing a blue shirt Hope’s way, “And...these.” She gave Hope a pair of white pants. Hope didn’t usually wear white pants, but she decided to try them for Josie’s sake. She went into the dressing room and pulled her uniform off. She put the outfit on, and looked at herself in the mirror. Okay, maybe Josie had some taste. She played around with her hair. She wondered if she should leave it down or pull it up. She almost never wore her hair up. She’d ask Josie. She walked back to her friend and saw her playing with the perfume samples on the counter. She’d just sprayed one in her face and she was now coughing violently.

“You okay?” Hope asked between laughs.

“Shut up,” Josie said lightheartedly. She looked Hope over and said, “You look good. You ready?” Hope nodded and said,

“I like the outfit, but what do you think about my hair. Should I wear it down or up?” Josie walked over to her and moved some hair out of her face,

“Down. Definitely down,” she said. She stood with her hand still grazing Hope’s cheek for longer than she’d intended, and both girls had to eventually step back from each other.

“Um, should we get going?” Hope asked.

“Sure, but what about paying? I don’t have any cash on me,” Josie said.

“We’ll just keep the tags on and return the clothes after the party. We have to come back for our old clothes anyway,” Hope said. Plus, with how dead the town was, they didn’t have to worry about anybody stealing it. Plus, she could just lock the doors with her magic anyway. She was just about to start heading out until an article of clothing caught her eye.

“Cool, then shall we?”

“One last touch,” Hope said. She picked up the plaid button up, undid all the buttons, and put it over Josie’s polo shirt.

“The shirt alone might look too preppy,” Hope said, “Plus, they dig the grunge look over there.” Josie laughed and said,

“I like it. It’s cool.” Lizzie hated plaid and liked having a say on what Josie wore most of the time, so she liked the freedom of this look. She played with the shirt as she followed Hope out of the store. Hope did a spell to lock it and said,

“Wickery Bridge is down that way. Hold on to me, we’ll get there soon.” Josie took Hope’s arm, and as they got closer to the party, Josie felt her nerves grow. She had felt so awful around that boy earlier. She’d wanted to apologize, but there was no way to explain that it was her fault without giving up their secret. Especially since she’d been nowhere near him when he’d gotten hurt. She took a breath to calm her nerves, and she and Hope arrived at the party. There was a bonfire, and a bunch of boys were cheering for a girl doing a keg stand. Josie could see the boy she’d hurt with them. He was the first person to see them. He waved at them and came over.

“Hey, there you are,” he said, “I was worried you wouldn’t be able to make it.”

“We just needed to get ready,” Hope said. The two of them made some joke about something that had happened at Mystic Falls High while Hope was there, and that was when Josie noticed that the boy was looking at Hope the same way Landon did. He was into her.

“Well, there are full kegs over there, help yourself. Maya’s around if you wanna say hey, and I’m here,” he said. He said goodbye to them and walked off.

“Wanna get a drink?” Hope asked.

“Sure. So...you and him?”

“What about me and him?” Hope asked as she walked with Josie to the kegs. She put her arm around her when she did.

“You know what I’m talking about. He was crushing on you,” Josie said. Hope looked away from her when she said that, and she could see her blush, “You don’t have to be embarrassed about it. I mean, who can blame him, right?” She laughed in an attempt to make a joke, but Hope wasn’t laughing, “Hey, I’m sorry. I know that you and Landon are together-”

“Just drop it. I think I need to get some air,” Hope said. She dropped Josie’s hand for the first time that night and walked off. Now Josie was just confused. What had she done? She’d just mentioned Landon. She thought she and Hope had put all the drama with him behind them. She saw the kegs next to her and decided to forget for a bit and pour herself a drink. She filled the cup and went to drink it by the side of the bridge. She was halfway through it when someone asked,

“You’re Hope’s friend, right?” Josie looked up and saw a beautiful girl staring at her. She recognized her from the game.

“Yeah, I’m Josie,” she said.

“Good to meet you Josie. I’m Maya,” she said, moving to sit next to her, “I saw you with Hope and I meant to say hello, but I lost you guys. Where is she?”

“She needed to get some air, but she’s around,” Josie said.  _ At least, she hoped she was _ .

“So, how long have the two of you been together?” Maya asked after some silence. Josie frowned.  _ Together? _

“What do you mean?”

“You know, together. Like in a relationship.”  _ Relationship? What was this girl on? _

“Oh, she and I aren’t...it isn’t...we’re just friends.”

“Oh, it’s just that I saw you hand in hand and I just assumed...you looked like you were together. She even put her arm around you.”

“Oh no, that was just us being friends. We’re really good friends. I mean, don’t get me wrong, I did have a crush on her a few years ago-”

“Girl, who wouldn’t,” Maya said, and Josie laughed. She liked this girl.

“But other than that, nothing. She’s actually with somebody else.” 

“Bummer,” Maya said. She put a hand on Josie’s shoulder and said, “Well you’re lucky to have her as a friend. She’s pretty cool, huh?”

“Yeah, the coolest,” Josie said. She heard footsteps and looked up to see Ethan. Maybe he and Maya were friends too. For a big school, it felt really small.

“Hey Josie, I see you’ve met my sister,” he said.

“Sister?” Josie asked. She felt her skin crawl, and she now wanted nothing other than to leave. She’d probably been crushed when she’d seen how badly her brother had gotten injured.

“Yep, Ethan’s my big bro,” Maya said, “You guys have met?” Josie felt like her head was spinning. She couldn’t be there.

“I need to go,” Josie said. She clambered to her feet, and on her way back to the party, she tripped on her feet and spilled her drink over the clothes she was supposed to return, “Crap!” She got to her feet and ran off. She needed to be away from Ethan and Maya and their warm, welcoming faces. She threw her now empty drink cup in one of the trash bags near the kegs, and went away from the crowd. She was wringing out her shirt when she heard a faint sound. As she walked closer to it, she recognized the sound as somebody crying. She walked closer and soon saw who it was, “Hope?” Her friend jumped a bit at the sound of her voice, and quickly tried wiping her tears, “It’s okay. You don’t have to hide, it’s me.”

“I’m fine,” Hope said, “I don’t know what came over me.” Josie went to sit next to Hope on the small boulder. She put an arm around her,

“C’mon. No hiding. Tell me what’s wrong.” Hope gave Josie a sad look, and she opened her mouth to explain, but she was interrupted by the sounds of sirens.

“Oh no,” she said.

“Everybody run!” a kid yelled. Josie and Hope gave each other a panicked look.

“What do we do?” Hope asked.

“Well if the cops get us, they can take us back to school,” Josie said.

“Yeah, where your Dad will suspend us for God knows how long!”

“Won’t matter much for me,” Josie murmured.

“What?”

“Nothing. C’mon, let’s get out of here,” Josie said. She took Hope’s hand this time and ran them into the woods. The only problem was she couldn’t see like Hope did, and she tripped over a twig. Hope hadn’t let go, so the two of them both fell down somewhat of a hill, landing on their backs at the bottom. Josie expected Hope to be angry since now both their outfits were ruined. But instead, she looked at Josie and started to laugh. Josie looked at her and gave her the biggest smile. They were together, and they were happy. For one moment, everything felt right.

“Are you okay?” Hope asked.

“I’m okay,” Josie said, “You?” Hope nodded. She looked at the sky and said,

“The stars, they look nice from here.” That was unexpected. Josie looked up and realized that Hope wasn’t wrong. There weren’t many places in the school for the kids to look at the stars, and when they could, they never looked like this. Perfectly spread out, with the moon shining bright.

“It’s beautiful,” Josie said, “When I was younger, Lizzie, my Mom, and I would lay outside, and look at the stars. We’d make shapes. Do you see any?”

“I see an apple. To the right of the moon. Do you see?”

“Yeah, I see it. If you go a little down, there’s a flower. See?”

“I see it,” Hope said. They looked at the stars for a bit, and then Josie had to ask.

“What happened earlier? Why were you so upset?” Hope looked at Josie and said,

“The reason that I was late for curfew was because Landon and I got into a fight,” she admitted. I left the school around the time the gates closed to wolf out, and when I came back, it was too late.”

“What did you two fight about? I thought things were good.”

“They were. Before everything that happened with the golden arrow. Now it just feels like…” she trailed off. She felt another tear come, so she wiped her face.

“Hope?” Josie asked, “Look, if you don’t want to talk-”

“I want to talk,” she said, “Really, I do. Remember when I told you that I had to make a choice? The night you came out of the prison world.”

“Yeah. You said that you made the choice to save us instead of him.”

“Exactly. Then later, after we did Emma’s noir simulation, I only got out when I chose to come back for Lizzie instead of leaving to find Landon. It’s really been making me think that he and I may not be able to have any kind of a future.”

“Hope don’t say things like that. Nothing we do now is for certain. In my opinion, that’s the best part about being young. We’ve got time to figure this stuff out.”

“But I can’t just string him along forever. I think...I think I might need to let him go.”

“Let him go? Like break up?”

“I...I don’t know,” Hope said, “All I know is that tonight, he and I almost took the next step in our relationship, and I couldn’t do it.”

“Why?”

“It didn’t feel right,” Hope admitted, “I still don’t know why I didn’t wake up when you got the darkness taken out of you, or why the golden arrow didn’t do what it was supposed to. With all these mysteries, now just didn’t feel like the time.”

“And that’s perfectly understandable,” Josie said, “And I know he understands that too. It doesn’t mean that you have to break up with him.”

“No, but everything else that happens does. I think I need some time to focus on myself, and make sure that I’m in a good place. Does that make me selfish?”

“No. It means that you want to take care of yourself. Which is the most important thing you can do. And I think it’s important that you see that.”

“Yeah, I guess,” Hope said. She returned to looking at the stars. They were so peaceful. She felt at peace looking at them. She wished she could just stay there forever. She could feel a silence growing between her and Josie, so she decided to cut the tension, “Did you have fun at the party?”

“Well, I didn’t get to stay for long,” Josie said, “But it wasn’t bad. I met your friend, Maya. She had a lot to say.” 

“Oh yeah, what?” Hope could see Josie blush in the dark, “What? What did she say?”

“She said that she saw us coming in here together, and because we were holding hands, she thought that you and I were here as a couple.”

“No way,” Hope said, smiling for the first time in a while.

“Oh yeah. Also, I think she was kind of into you. I got that vibe.” 

“Well I’m flattered, but…” she trailed off. She could say that she’d been in love with Landon, because she had been, but now, she didn’t feel like she could use that word, “Nevermind. You know, you and I would make a cute couple.”

“If only I’d known that earlier. Could have saved us a fire,” Josie joked. Hope laughed. She wasn’t sure why, but that story always made her feel so...light. She felt happy thinking about a young Josie having a crush on her of all people, “Hey, do you wanna get out of here? There are still a few hours left until the gates open. We could have some fun.”

“Now that is an idea. What shall we do?”

“Well, I could eat.” A smile formed on Hope’s mouth,

“I’ve got an idea, come on.” She pulled herself up then offered Josie her hand. She got Josie to her feet, and then looked at the state of their outfits, “Yeah...we definitely won’t be able to return these.”

“Yeah, these are toast” Josie said, “But let’s not worry. What was your idea?”

“Oh right. Come with me,” she said. She took Josie’s hand and walked them out of the woods and back into town. They went past the store they’d gotten the clothes from, and Hope walked them to the closed minimart in town. 

“Oh. Yes,” Josie said. Hope used her magic to unlock the door, “But how can we get anything? We don’t have any money, and I’ll feel bad just stealing.”

“I can have that taken care of,” Hope said, “This is our night. No responsibilities. Why not have a little fun while we’re at it?”

“I like fun,” Josie said. She grabbed a cart from the side, and laughed as Hope jumped inside.

“To the cookies!” Hope said, pointing towards the aisle. Josie broke into a run and they went careening down the store. She lost temporary control of the cart, and they accidentally crashed into the soup cans, sending them all rolling, “Saltzman loses control and the soup goes flying!” Hope shot her arms in the air, and Josie almost fell to the ground laughing. She’d never seen Hope like this before. It was honestly kind of amazing.

“Mikaelson takes the shot,” Josie said, tossing Hope a soup can, “She shoots,” Hope shot the soup can towards an empty trash can and it just barely got in, “She scores! Ten points to Mikaelson!”

“Woop woop!” Hope said. She leaned over the front of the cart and went, “Cookie time!” Josie maneuvered the cart towards the cookie aisle, and Hope was using one of the magazines she’d gotten near check out as a “telescope.” Josie got to the cookies and asked,

“Okay. We can be safe and get chocolate chip  _ or _ be bold and go for white chocolate macadamia.”

“Risky waters with the macadamias. I like it,” Hope said, “Forward Captain Saltzman!” Josie moved towards the macadamia cookies, and Hope pulled a bag out. She opened it, and she and Josie each tried a cookie. Both of them immediately spit theirs out after trying them.

“I think the chocolate chip low tide is more our speed,” Josie said.

“Oh yeah, definitely,” Hope said, spitting out a nut. She pointed her magazine towards the chocolate chip cookies and said, “To chocolate chip island!” Josie went to the cookies, and she and Hope went to town on those. After the cookies, they went to the slushy machine, where Hope did a spell to get it to come out magically, causing it to go completely out of control.

“Slushy party!” Josie said. She jumped into the mess that was forming on the ground, and dragged Hope in with her. The two girls played in the slushy, and Josie allowed herself to try some. She’d actually never had a slushy before. “This is divine!”

“Right?” Hope asked, “The orange is my favorite, but blue raspberry is a second.”

“I like the blue,” Josie said, licking it from her fingers. It felt foamy on her body, but she didn’t mind. She was having fun. However, her fun was stopped when Hope said,

“We should come back next weekend. I’ll buy you a real slushy, and show you how to correctly combine the flavors, because this is a disaster,” Hope said, flicking some towards Josie.

“Oh yeah, next weekend,” Josie said, turning to look at her feet.

“Josie, what is it?” Hope asked, and her voice sounded like an echo as Josie recalled the conversation she’d had with her father earlier in the night.

_ Five Hours Earlier _

Josie pulled the hoodie over her head, and moved some hair out of her face. She’d just gotten out of the third shower she’d taken since getting assaulted by Alyssa Chang and her friends earlier in the day with whatever gross substance they’d tossed at her. Being a witch without magic wasn’t that fun in a school like this considering there was no way to defend herself. She looked at her pig bank on her nightstand. Her magic was in there, and she considered taking it, but she knew that was the wrong idea. Her magic had hurt people, and she wasn’t sure she trusted herself with it right now. There was a knock on the door.

“Come in,” Josie said. The door opened and her father entered, “Hey Dad. What’s going on?”

“Your sister told me what happened. I thought we should talk.”

“I told her not to say anything,” Josie said, moving to sit on her bed, “I’m fine, really. If anything, I deserve it. What I did to Alyssa is unforgivable.”

“It was wrong,” Alaric agreed, “But you weren’t you. She’s gonna see that soon. But I was thinking until then, maybe you could take some time off.”

“What do you mean?” Josie asked.

“I just got off the phone with your Mother. She’d like for you to stay with her in London. Just until the start of next year. We think it would be a good fit.”

“You want me to move to London for five months?”  _ He had to be joking, right? _ But the somber look on his face told her that he was anything but, “I can’t leave for that long, this is my home.”

“And it will still be your home when you get back. We just think that some time away with just you and your Mom, and no distractions could be just what you need. You could really work on getting yourself to a place where you aren’t still feeling guilty for what happened.”

“You can’t expect me to not feel guilty for things that are my fault,” Josie said, “I can’t just run. That doesn’t solve anything.”

“You aren’t running, honey,” he said, “You’re just taking some time to yourself.”

“Well my answer is no, I don’t want to go.” Alaric turned to look at his feet, and Josie realized what was happening. “Except, you aren’t asking me, are you?” He looked at her.

“No, I’m not. Your Mother bought you a ticket, and the plane leaves on Saturday.” It was Friday.

“You’re not even going to give me a choice?” Josie asked angrily, “What happened to trusting me to make my own decisions?”

“Excuse me for losing a little faith after the last decisions you’ve made have included dark magic. Now I know most of what happened wasn’t your fault, but I’m your father. It’s my job to make sure you aren’t straying too far from what’s right. Please trust me when I say that this is what’s best for you.”

“This isn’t fair,” Josie said.

“I’m sorry,” he said, “I love you sweetheart, don’t forget it, okay?” She didn’t say anything. She was so hurt. He kissed her head, but she didn’t acknowledge him. He left her room, and after he was gone, Josie felt a tear form. She quickly wiped it away. She couldn’t be here right now. She checked the clock. 9:28. She had some time before curfew. She could go out into town for a bit. She slid her shoes on and left her room. She was walking past Landon’s room when she heard a crash. She contemplated going to check on them, but if he saw her upset, he’d probably ask her about it, and she didn’t feel like talking to anybody right now. She went downstairs, where the hall monitor gave her a thirty minutes until curfew warning. She ignored him and went outside. She left the gates and contemplated where she should go. She really didn’t know her way around town that well, and it was dark. She settled on walking for a bit until she ran out of time, then coming back. She didn’t have enough time to get lost, so she’d be fine.

_ Present Time _

She’d gotten lost in about five minutes, and by the time she had made it back, she’d been late. She was pulled from her memory from the pungent smell of the orange slushy. She was now back in the minimart, where a concerned Hope was looking at her.

“Josie, what’s wrong?” she asked.

“It’s nothing,” she said. She added a laugh for emphasis and said, “This smell is starting to get to me.” Hope nodded and said,

“You’re right. I think I might get high off of it soon. Come on, let’s get out of here.” Hope helped Josie out of the mess of slushy, and Josie was washing herself off as best she could when she heard the familiar sound of the sirens, “Really, again?”

“How do they keep showing up wherever we are?” Josie wondered. Hope could see the cop car coming to the door and said,

“Come on, we gotta get out of here.” She and Josie made a run for the backdoor, and made it out as the cops entered. They made a run for it, but the other cop saw them, and he was getting in his car, prepared to follow them.

“Hope what do we do?” Josie asked.

“Uh, maybe there’s a spell that can get us out of here, if I can just think of one,” she said.

“Think you could do a spell to hotwire a bike?” Josie asked. Hope frowned, so Josie pointed to the motorbike leaning on the side of the store.

“Yeah, I can do that,” Hope said. The girls went to the bike, and Hope gave Josie the helmet. Hope was a wolf, and didn’t really need one. While Josie clipped it on, Hope did a spell to start the bike. She heard the engine start and said, “Alright, cool. Now we just gotta hope I know how to drive this.”

“It can’t be that different from riding a bike, right?” Josie asked, getting on behind her. She put her hands on Hope’s shoulders, but Hope moved them to her waist,

“You’ll be more secure that way,” she explained. From where she was sitting, she couldn’t see Josie’s blush. She started the bike, and rockily left the parking lot. The police car was gaining on them.

“Hope, you gotta go faster, or they’ll catch up with us,” Josie said. She really wasn’t in the mood to get arrested. Neither was Hope, so she pushed her foot down on the accelerator. Bless Uncle Kol for teaching her the parts of a motorbike. Too bad he hadn’t taught her how to actually ride it. She was going so fast, she was scared. She didn’t even know how to drive a car! This was way out of her roundhouse.

“Josie, I don’t think I can do this!” she said. Josie turned to the cop car that was still after them. She leaned in to Hope and said,

“Yes you can, okay. You’re Hope Mikaelson, fighter of gargoyles, destroyer of Malivore. Are you really telling me you can’t handle a motorbike?”

“Um, kind of,” Hope said. 

“Hey, don’t be scared. You’re thinking too hard. Just relax, ignore the cop, and focus on me. Focus on my voice. Think about being balanced, and be in control.” Hope loosened her grip on the handlebars enough to calm herself, and let Josie’s soothing voice get her into a state of control. She was Hope Mikaelson, she could do this. She sped up the bike, and zoomed down the road.

“Yes! You got it!” Josie said. Hope looked at the road ahead, and realized she was doing it. She was driving the motorbike!

“I  _ do _ got it!” Hope said, feeling very proud of herself. She could hear the siren getting fainter and fainter. They were getting away! “So, where to now?” Hope had suggested the mini mart, and they still had a few more hours until the gate opened, so now it was Josie’s turn to pick.

“I don’t know where anything is? How could I pick?”

“C’mon, you’ve lived here longer than me. Do you really not know anything?” Josie thought for a bit, then an idea came to her when she saw a sign.

“I have one, take a right up there.” Hope took the right, and Josie instructed for her to take the next left. Hope took the left and saw herself going towards a neighborhood.

“Are we going to the neighborhood?” she asked.

“Indeed,” Josie said. Hope entered the neighborhood, and took the turns Josie told her to. She kept driving until Josie asked her to stop in front of a house.

“What is this?” Hope asked.

“My grandmother’s house,” Josie said, “I’ve never met her, but Mom used to let us come here to play when we were younger. For birthday parties and stuff. My Uncle Stefan had it refurbished before her passed away, so it’s really nice.” 

“Cool,” Hope said. They got off the bike, and Josie took the helmet off. She ran a hand through her hair. It was a little stiff from the the slushy. She combed out some bits of slushy as they got to the porch. Josie looked at Hope and asked,

“You mind?”

“Not at all.” Hope did a spell-a spell that she officially deemed “spell of the night”- and unlocked the door. They went inside and Josie turned on the lights. Hope was impressed. It was a very nice suburban house, one Hope wished she could have lived in with her Mom and Dad had things not been so complicated. She looked at the pictures all around. There were a ton of Josie’s mother and grandmother, Josie and Lizzie when they were little, and Josie’s Mom with her friends.

“Wanna watch a movie?” Josie asked. 

“Sure, whatcha got?” Hope asked. She went into the living room with Josie and hopped onto the couch with her. Josie opened a movie library on the TV and said,

“I’m feeling comedy. Superbad?”

“Nah, Booksmart. It’s better,” Hope said. Josie couldn’t argue with that, so she selected it, and Hope dimmed the lights of the room with her magic.

“So, why your grandmother’s house?” Hope asked after they’d been watching the movie for a bit.

“I don’t know, I just felt like coming. Sorry if it didn’t fit the theme of the night.”

“Hey, everything is welcome on Hope and Josie’s Night O’ Fun,” Hope said cutely, and Josie laughed. Hope definitely knew how to make her feel better, “Did you and your Mom watch movies together when you would come here?”

“Sometimes,” Josie said, “She and Lizzie were always a lot closer than she and I ever were, so usually they’d hang out, and I’d find ways to entertain myself. They would try to include me, but after a few attempts, we all agreed it was kind of pointless.”

“I’m sorry,” Hope said.

“It’s fine,” Josie said, “I love my Mom. She and I just don’t have a lot in common.”  _ That was going to make the next five months an adventure. _

“Why not?” Josie shrugged.

“I guess because she was always the one in charge when it came to Lizzie’s treatments growing up, so that gave them a lot to do together. For me, she’d usually drop me off for playdates, or at activities that would go on all night, and I was okay with that. Lizzie was getting the help she needed, and I could have fun, but sometimes I just wish-”

“That your Mom could have spent some of those nights with you?” 

“Yeah. Dad was there, he could have taken Lizzie at least once,” Josie admitted. She’d actually never said that out loud before. It felt good.

“I totally understand, believe me. My Mom was always there when I needed her, but there was nothing I wanted more than one day with my Dad.”

“You never really talk about your Dad,” Josie said, “And all I hear about him are stories from one person’s point of view. I’d like to know more, if you’re willing to tell me.” Hope blushed.

“Well, I can assure you, there is definitely truth in those stories you’ve heard, my Dad wasn’t a saint. But he was still a great Dad, when he could be. He would paint with me, and read me bedtime stories. He would buy me desserts, take walks with me, let me pick flowers. There was no reason for me to see him as anyone other than someone who loved me very much.”

“That sounds nice.”

“It was. But I did grow up, I heard things, saw things, and learned everything wasn’t as black and white as I’d thought. I don’t think my Dad was either a good or a bad person, I just know he did right by me, and by our family, and in the end, that was what mattered. I like to think that he found peace, but according to our friend The Necromancer, he won’t until I do.”

“Do you think you’re on your way to that soon?”

“At this point of my life, definitely not,” Hope said. She snuggled with one of the pillows on the couch and said, “I feel like I’m letting him down.”

“You’re not letting him down,” Josie said, “Life isn’t easy, and it takes time to get to the right place. I know it definitely did for your Dad. He loves you, and I think he knows that you’re doing your best. I mean, c’mon. You’ve saved the school how many times in the past two years?” Hope laughed.

“I mean what can I say, I’m a hero,” she said, flipping her hair over her shoulder. Josie laughed,

“Yeah, you are. And don’t you forget it, not even for a second.”

“Thanks Josie,” Hope said.

“Of course, you know I’m always here for you.”

“I do. I feel like the only person I’ve ever been able to talk to about my family has been you,” Hope said. She then moved in closer to Josie and put her head on her shoulder, “Thank you for that.”

“Yeah, it’s no problem,” Josie said, feeling a small but good rush coming over her. She didn’t know Hope felt that way about her, and she was really glad that she did, “You’re all I’ve got too you know? And I don’t say that lightly.” Hope turned to look at her and said,

“Josie, you’ll never not have me, okay?”  _ But you’re about to not have me. _ Josie opened her mouth, ready to tell Hope about how she needed to leave, when there was a knock on the door. Hope moved her head from Josie’s shoulder and asked, “Who’s that?”

“I don’t know,” Josie admitted, “Can you use your wolf eyes to see?” Hope nodded and hoisted herself up on the couch. Using her eyes, she could see the officer in uniform outside.

“It’s the police!”

“How do they keep finding us?” Josie asked exasperatedly.

“Maybe it was someone patrolling and they saw the bike,” Hope said. The officer knocked again, harder this time, “Is there a way out?”

“Yeah, the back,” Josie said. She turned the TV off and the two girls ran towards the back door, glad the cops hadn’t surrounded the house.

“Where to now?” Hope asked once they were outside. She checked her watch. It was four forty seven, they still had some time before the gates opened.

“Um...we could go back into town I guess. By the time we get there it should be past five, we won’t have much longer and we could just wait around,” Josie said.

“Works for me,” Hope said, “Let’s get out of here.” The two girls broke into a run, and Hope noticed that after a time, Josie was struggling to keep up.

“Sorry, running isn’t really my thing, especially on no sleep,” Josie said.

“Don’t worry, I’ve got you,” Hope said. She used her strength to hoist Josie onto her back, “Hold on tight okay?”

“Hold on tight for whaaa-” Josie ended up yelling as Hope did a high long jump. She landed back on the ground and could hear Josie panting hard.

“You okay?”

“That was awesome!” Josie said, and Hope breathed a sigh of relief. “Do it again!”

“As you wish,” Hope said. She broke into a run and jumped again, with Josie laughing this time. It felt freeing using her wolf powers like this with Josie. She never really got the opportunity to act like this at school with all the rules in place. It felt amazing. She made it back to the town square, and let Josie jump off her back. She turned to Josie, whose hair was a mess. She laughed and said, “Your hair looks insane.”

“Hmm,” Josie said, “Maybe you’ve got a future in cosmetics. You can jump women around town and give them blowouts.” She fixed her hair and Hope giggled. 

“Your hair actually looks great.” It looked a lot more wavy than it had earlier, and it curls were complimenting her well.

“You think?” Josie asked. Hope nodded, “Well thanks then.”

“No problem,” she said, “What do you want to do now?” The two girls were standing in the middle of the square. Josie fixed her gaze on the array of instruments in the grass. It looked like there’d been a live music event there recently. She knew those were common, the kids at school would go to them all the time. But Josie had never been.

“Wanna play?” Josie asked. She picked up the guitar from the ground and slung it over her shoulder. She played a cord, and saw that it was out of tune. While she tuned it, Hope said,

“Art’s always been more of my thing, though I did used to play a bit of piano.” She sat at the piano next to Josie and played with the keys. She didn’t play an actual song, but Josie thought it was cute. She finished tuning the guitar.

“Any requests?” she asked.

“You pick,” Hope said, playing with the keys on her piano. Josie searched her brain for a song, and when she got one, she strummed the guitar. First, she only played, then she found her mouth opening, and the lyrics to the song spilled out.

“You’ve already won me over in spite of me, so don’t be alarmed if I fall head over feet,” she sang out. Hope watched intently from the piano, as if the biggest star in the world had come to serenade her. In a way, maybe she had. “And don’t be surprised if I love you, for all that you are. I couldn’t help it, it’s all your fault.” Josie played the last cord a little off and looked at Hope, “Sorry, that was bad.”

“No, I loved it,” Hope said, “Alanis Morisette?”

“One of my favorites.”

“Mine too,” Hope said, “Mom loved her music, so she’d play it. It reminds me of her.”

“That’s so sweet,” Josie said, “You wanna sing?”

“Oh no, I don’t sing,” Hope said. Josie gave her a toothy grin and resumed playing, but this time it was a different song. A song Hope recognized because her Mom used to play it while she made dinner.

“I’m broke but I’m happy, I’m poor but I’m kind. I’m short but I’m healthy yeah,” Josie sang, and she was smiling big at Hope. Hope sighed and half spoke, half sang,

“I’m high but I’m grounded, I’m sane but I’m overwhelmed. I’m lost but I’m hopeful baby.” She had the biggest voice crack at baby, and she fully expected Josie to laugh at her, but she didn’t. In fact, she looked proud. She continued playing the song, and by the time they got to the chorus, Josie singing while Hope awkwardly came in had transformed into a duet.

“ And what it all boils down to, Is that no one's really got it figured out just yet. I've got one hand in my pocket, and the other one is playing the piano,” they sang, with Hope going back to the piano and playing a few random notes.

“And what it all comes down to, is that everything is just fine, fine, fine,” they finished with, and Hope twirled Josie around as they did. Josie played two ending cords on the guitar and said,

“That was amazing!”

“Yeah, I love that song,” Hope admitted, “It reminds me of my Mom, in the best way.” Josie smiled at her and said,

“That’s awesome.” She watched Hope check her watch and say,

“It’s five thirty, do we wanna head back?”

“Well, I don’t think Hope and Josie’s Night O’ Fun has to end just yet,” Josie said. She pointed to the grill, “They don’t open until eight, and it’s definitely been a while since slushies. Want breakfast?”

“You know how to cook?”  
“Excuse you. I make great pancakes,” Josie said.

“Okay okay, show me your ways.” The two of them went to the grill, which Hope unlocked. If she ever got this spell wrong in the future, it would be too soon. They went inside, and Josie went back to the kitchen. Hope followed her and watched as she got ingredients. She also noticed that Josie seemed to know where everything was.

“Why do I have the feeling you’ve done this before?” Hope asked.

“Because I have,” Josie answered honestly, “My Mom is friends with the owner, and he’d let me hang out with him while Mom and Lizzie went to therapy. Just one of the many things I got to do.”

“Cool,” Hope asked. She watched Josie mix the batter and sprinkle cinnamon in it, “You like cinnamon in your pancakes?”

“Yep, old habit I never grew out of. Is that fine with you?”

“Yeah, it’s great. I love cinnamon.” Josie nodded and added a bit more. 

“Do you like chocolate chip, blueberry, or plain?” she asked.

“Blueberry,” Hope said.

“Good choice,” Josie said. She went to the fridge and pulled out a small container. She dumped the blueberries in and mixed them. Once it was mixed, she got a pan and put it on the stove. Once the pan was hot enough, she put the batter on, and waited to flip. Hope was honestly in awe. She couldn’t cook well, at least not without magic. The pancakes smelled delicious, and she could feel her mouth start to water. Josie flipped the pancake and said, “Can you get plates? They’re in the cupboard over there.”

“Yeah sure,” Hope said. She pulled two plates out and returned to Josie, who put her now finished pancake on one of them. She made a few more and said,

“Okay, moment of truth.” She gave Hope a fork, “Let me know what you think.” Hope cut into the pancake and took a bite. It was the best thing she had ever tasted. Josie’s ratio of cinnamon to blueberries was amazing, and it all melted in her mouth, “You like?”

“I love! You eat too, these are amazing.” She and Josie finished the pancakes, and when they were cleaning up, Hope said, “You know, you could really have a career in cooking. Those were awesome.” Josie laughed,

“They’re just pancakes, it really isn’t that hard. In fact, I’ll even show you how to make them.”  _ In five months, when I’m back from London _ . Her time with Hope had nearly made her forget, but now she couldn’t. Hope could tell that she was down, because she stopped washing and asked,

“Josie, what’s going on?” Josie shrugged. She wasn’t sure how to tell Hope her news. She hadn’t even told Lizzie yet. She felt a tear fall from her eye, and she tried to wipe it away before Hope could see. She wasn’t fast enough, and Hope could see something was really wrong, “Hey, we talked about this, remember? You don’t have to hide things from me.” She crouched in front of Josie and took her hands, “I’m here for you, okay?”

“It’s just that, I had a conversation with my Dad earlier,” she started to explain, but before she could finish, the door to the grill opened.

“I thought you said they opened at eight,” Hope said.

“They do,” Josie said. 

“Girls, this is the police! Come on out!” Hope heard the familiar voice of Maya and Ethan’s Mother. She was friends with Dr. Saltzman, she knew she wouldn’t hurt them.

“It’s the Sheriff,” Hope said.

“What do we do?” Josie asked.

“There’s no way out without using magic,” Hope said, “I think it’s time for Hope and Josie’s Night O’ Fun to reach its end.”

“I mean, it is six,” Josie said, pointing to the clock on the wall, “So no matter what, we can say that we made it.”

“Hell yeah,” Hope said, “Shall we?” Josie nodded and took Hope’s hand. The two girls left the kitchen, and saw the Sheriff. She had a kind look on her face, and she said,

“Girls I’m not gonna hurt you, I’m just gonna take you back to school. Dr. Saltzman has been looking for the two of you all night.”  _ All night. That explained why the cops had been chasing them all night. They’d just wanted to take them back to school. _ Josie now felt a little bad about running, but it wasn’t like she had regrets. She’d actually had fun last night, running from the police and all.

“Okay, we’ll come with you,” Josie said. She and Hope went with the Sheriff to the car. On the drive there, Josie yawned, and Hope let her rest on her shoulder this time. She leaned in towards Josie, and found herself slipping into sleep. When she woke up, the Sheriff was pulling into the school.

“Alright, we’re here,” she said. Josie ended up having to shake Hope awake. She shot back into a sitting position, and Josie calmed her down.

“Hey, it’s okay,” she said, “We’re back in the school.”  
“Sorry, I got a little freaked out,” she admitted. The two girls got out of the car, but before they could go in, Hope said, “Hey, about earlier. What were you going to tell me?”

“I’ll tell you later,” Josie said. She went inside the school, and Hope followed her. Dr. Saltzman was waiting for them by the door.

“Dad, hey,” Josie said. He gave her a hug and said,

“I’m so glad you girls are okay, but where have you been? I’ve been calling both of you all night.”

“We forgot our phones,” Hope said, “That was our bad.”

“You and I are going to talk about this later,” he told her, “Both of you get upstairs, and Josie get packing, I’m driving you to the airport in an hour.”

“Airport?” Hope asked. Josie ignored her and walked upstairs. Hope went after her, “Hey, Josie. Talk to me, what’s going on?” She ran up to her and took her arm before she could go into her room, “You don’t get to tell me that I can talk to you about anything then not give me the same regard.”

“I’m going to Europe to be with my Mom.” Josie said after a moment passed, “Dad thinks it’ll be best for me to get away for a bit.”

“And what do you think?”

“I thought he was wrong,” Josie said, “But then I talked to you. I told you that it wasn’t selfish to take care of yourself, and maybe I need to take my own advice. Plus, I also said I’d like to get closer to my Mom, and I think this is the way. I’m sorry I didn’t tell you sooner.”

“It’s fine Josie, I agree with you,” Hope said, “How about I come with you to the airport? It would be nice to have a friend, right?”

“I’d love that,” Josie said, “I need to go to talk Lizzie and pack. I have to be downstairs in an hour. I’ll see you then.”

“Perfect,” Hope said. Josie went to her room, and Hope went to hers to change out of her clothes. It reminded her that she needed to get the money together to pay for the outfits. And for trashing the minimart. She decided to ignore that until it was a top priority problem. When it was time to go to the airport, Hope went downstairs and saw Josie hugging her sister goodbye.

“I’m gonna kill Alyssa Chang,” Lizzie was saying.

“Do not do anything,” Josie said, “Just take care of yourself, okay?”  
“I will. You sure you don’t want me to come with you?”  
“I’m sure. You have your plans with MG, right? Go have fun, I’ll be back before you know it.”

“Have tons of fun, okay?” Lizzie said, “And send lots of pictures. At least one a day. And call. I’ll go crazy if I don’t hear your voice.”

“I will. Go, I don’t want you to be late.” Lizzie gave Josie a kiss on the cheek before leaving to meet up with MG. Hope made it to the bottom of the stairs and asked,

“How are you feeling?”

“A lot better than I did last night, thanks,” Josie said, “You ready?”

“I am,” Hope said. The two of them got in the car, and Alaric frowned when he saw Hope, but he didn’t say anything. He just drove them to the airport. They were quiet for a bit, and Alaric turned the radio on. That was the only sound until Hope said, “Here, for you.” She pulled a CD out and said, “My Mom gave this to me a few years ago, I thought you should have it.”

“Alanis  Morisette ,” Josie said, “Are you sure? Your Mom gave this to you.”

“I’m sure,” Hope said. Josie smiled and put it in her bag. They got to the airport, and Hope and Josie got out, but not Alaric.

“Dad, are you coming?” Josie asked.

“Why don’t you two go ahead, I’ll wait here,” he said. He opened the trunk for Josie to get her bag, and Hope was about to follow when Alaric stopped her.

“Just so you know, I got calls from both a clothing store and a minimart. Expect a conversation about that when we get back.”

“Yeah yeah,” Hope said, “I know, I messed up.”

“You messed up when you broke curfew,” Alaric said, “But you didn’t mess up with Josie. I don’t know what you did, but whatever it was made Josie see that this was for the best, so thank you.”

“No problem,” Hope said.

“Hope, you coming?” Josie asked.

“Yeah, on my way.” Hope waved goodbye to Alaric and followed Josie inside. They checked in and walked to security, where Hope knew she’d have to say goodbye.

“Did you and Landon have a chance to talk?” Josie asked as they walked through the airport.

“Not yet,” Hope said, “But we will. And then I think I’m going to go home, see my Aunt Freya, hang out with Marcel and Rebekah. I feel like that’ll be good for you.”

“That sounds like it’ll be fun. Are you feeling better than you were last night?”

“Yeah, I feel a lot better. Thank you for everything you said to me,” Hope said, “It really helped, and I think I know what to do moving forward.”

“Well, I’m glad I could help,” Josie said. They got to the security line, “Well, I guess this is where we part ways for now. I’ll see you when school starts back up. Let me know how New Orleans is.”

“I will. Give me every update you can about London.” Josie nodded, and wrapped Hope in a hug. She then pulled apart and went to the security line. Hope looked after her for a bit, then decided to go back to Dr. Saltzman when Josie was next in line. She was almost out the door when she felt a hand on her shoulder. She was turned around and was left facing Josie, “Josie, what are you-” she was cut off when Josie leaned in and kissed her. Hope was stunned at first, but she soon found herself returning it. She put her hands on Josie’s face and kissed her hard. She could feel the endorphins in her body pumping. It was the exact same rush she got from wolfing out, except better. She felt Josie pull away.

“I’m sorry, I shouldn’t have-” Josie started, but Hope cut her off.

“No, that was...that was perfect,” Hope said.

“I think I gotta get going,” Josie said, “But uh, when I get back-”

“We’ll figure it out,” Hope said. She wrapped her arms around Josie and hugged her hard. She let the faint smell of cinnamon that still clung to her overwhelm her senses. She never wanted to let go, but she had to. Josie walked away, and Hope watched her leave through the security gates. Once she was out of sight, Hope turned around to go back to the car. She felt a lightness to her step as she went back to the car. She had spent all of last night wondering why she’d been so confused, and trying to figure out what she had wanted. But now it was hitting her. She’d thought she’d picked the Saltzmans over Landon that day because it had been saving three versus one, but that hadn’t been it. Because she hadn’t just been picking the Saltzmans. She’d picked Josie. And then she’d picked her again when she’d gone into her head in an attempt to save her instead of staying at the school to fight the Necromancer. Everything was so clear. She’d picked Josie because she loved her. And now that she knew that Josie felt that way too, she felt a weight coming off of her. A weight that had been on her shoulders ever since she’d come back to the school. She had Josie back. For real this time, and now she fully realized that that was what she had needed all along.

**Author's Note:**

> I hope you guys enjoyed this one! Let me know what you thought in the comments below :)


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